Scorching heat and depleting water storage is pushing Gujarat towards one of the worst water crisis in the recent history. The situation is alarming in the regions of Saurashtra and Kutch, where the total live storage is merely 8 per cent and 15 per cent of the capacity thereby making the wait for South-West Monsoon unbearable for the people of these water-starved districts.

As per the latest State Water Supply Department data, 202 small and big dams in the State have total live storage of 3,308 million cubic metres (MCM), while Sardar Sarovar Project (Narmada Dam) has 3,740 MCM. This stands at about 23 per cent of the overall capacity of these dams.

But the situation is harrowing in Saurashtra, where total 137 dams have only 203 MCM of live storage or 8.5 per cent of the capacity. Situation in Kutch is no better with close to 15 per cent live storage.

The state is estimated to consume an average of about 60-70 MCM per day from these reservoirs.

Speaking to BusinessLine, Pradip Sojitra, chairman, Amreli-APMC informed that with each passing day, the water crisis was getting graver in the district as most of the water resources have dried-up and complete dependence is on the water supplies through Narmada Canal.

"We get water once in 3-4 days from Narmada Canal, but that is available to only a part of the district. The rest are left to the mercy of the Nature. For Amreli town's daily water requirement of around 15 Million Litres per Day (MLD) it gets only10 MLD from Narmada. The secondary source from other nearby reservoir isn't available because of the incomplete pipelines," said Sojitra adding that even the ground water has dried-up at several places with no water flowing in the local river - Thebi.

The scarcity is more intense and serious in Jamnagar district, where places like Jodiya get water once in 10-12 days. "Only half of the district gets water that too once in a week. In some places like Jodiya it is even worse. People do not get water to meet even half of their requirement," said Raghavjibhai Patel, chairman of Hapa - Jamnagar APMC.

The State had received 650.17 mm rainfall in 2015 monsoon, which is about 20 per cent deficient form the 3-decade average of 797 mm. Saurashtra had received 577 mm rainfall as against average of 643 mm. However, Kutch had received excess rain of 531 mm as against average of 387 mm.

Farmers allege mismanagement on the State government's part for their plight. Patel alleged that the government did not act on time to take necessary measures to ensure water availability to villages. "They've declared Jamnagar district as drought-hit, but there is no fodder supplies for animals so far," he alleged adding that the State administration even failed to adequately arrange drinking water supply through tankers.

Earlier this month, the State government had announced 623 villages as drought-affected, which included 190 villages from Jamnagar district and few others from Porbandar, Devbhumi Dwarka and Kutch district. Prior to that, 527 villages were declared partially drought-hit, which included 288 villages from Jamnagar. The Government had assured adequate supply of drinking water and fodder in these villages.

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